Kaos in DC: Arrow
by Lonly Wanderer
Summary: 1st official branch of the Kaos in DC series, a version of the Arrowverse with some familiar additions to it. Oliver Queen returns to Starling City after being missing on an island for 5 years. Enjoy the chaos that follows as he becomes a vigilante and then a hero, along with a few others.
1. Chapter 1

LW: So here we are the 1st proper step into Kaos in DC, starting like the original Arrowverse (aka Legends of Superflarrrow) with Arrow. And because this isn't technically a spoiler as he was named in the trailer: Raptor.

Kao in DC: Arrow – Returning home

 _"_ _The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for 'purgatory'. I've been stranded here for 5 years. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal...survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the boy who was shipwrecked but the man who will bring justice to those who have poisoned my city. My name is Oliver Queen._ _"_

The boat trip as well as flight and examination by the doctors was spent in near complete silence, only answering the most basic of questions. They most likely believed he'd been traumatised by what had happened to him on the island and Oliver wasn't going to disagree any time soon, if after everything that he'd done these last 5 years there wasn't something wrong with him, there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with him.

A familiar perfume put a crack in his mental walls, but it was the voice that managed to worm its way in even for a moment 'Oliver?' she called hesitantly and Oliver turned to look into those sad, hopeful eyes

'Mom' his voice cracked and croaked, a side effect of its lack of use recently, but that didn't matter to Moira who pulled her son tightly against her, Oliver not even resisting as he took in the scent of home after so long without it.

'My baby boy, I missed you so much' she sobs as she pulls him closer

'I missed you too mom'

The ride through Starling Oliver spent looking out the window silently just watching the streets go by

'I know the city has gone downhill since your father was lost. A part of me used to think it's mourning his loss too but that's just the idle thoughts of someone in pain, wanting others to suffer as well' Moira says as she places her hand over his 'It is so good to have you back Oliver' he smiled just a little

'I know mom, it's good to be back'

 _Queen Mansion_

'Ollie!' a blur in a red leather jacket shrieked before colliding with Oliver

'Hey Speedy' Oliver mumbles as he holds her close, surprised by the young woman his sister had become while he was gone

'Oliver!' a deep voice called in greeting

'Walter' Oliver greets, accepting the man's handshake, Walter had been a friend of his father's for years and given both his parents small families he was the closest him and his sister had to an uncle, Oliver internally smirking remembering a younger Thea asking when _Uncle Walt_ would be visiting

'Hey!' Oliver turns to the guy who just walked into the house 'I told you yachts suck' he smiled before pulling him into a hug 'Glad you're back man'

'It's great to be back Tommy'

'I missed you Oliver, things weren't the same without you'

Despite himself Oliver laughed 'I can imagine, no one to blame or bail you out of trouble'

'I think that island messed with your head, it was me pulling your ass out of the fires' Tommy joked, his carefree, happy go lucky attitude rubbing off Oliver nicely after so long

 _Dinner a little later_

'So how long have you been sleeping with my mother? ' Oliver asks, wishing he had a working brain to mouth filter after rerunning it back in his head, well until he remembered he never had one to begin with.

'I didn't say anything' Thea quickly defends herself,

'How'd you know?' Moira asked with a curious look once the shock wore off

'The little touches and smiles, the fact you've used him to support yourself since we got home and the light in his eyes when you smile now I'm back and things feel how they used to' Oliver lists off, everyone at the table blink in surprise.

'You weren't this observant before'

'Didn't have to use my senses simply to survive back then' Oliver replied 'Past me was practically walking around with his eyes closed lucky not to walk into walls like a Borg' Thea snorts at what she assumed to be a joke, the moment broken when Raisa trips and Oliver catches her with little effort on his part

'Oh Mr Oliver, I'm sorry…' she begins but he waves her off

'Ni dlya kogo ne volnuites, Raisa' he whispers but everyone hears him

'Since when did you speak Russian? They have classes on that island?' Thea teased but he could see she was actually curious

'Hey I was good at some classes, I'm actually quite good with languages' Oliver defended

'For flirting?' a familiar (and most likely underused) grin split her face, Oliver looking like he was going to defend himself… before sighing and nodding that had been how he discovered his affinity after all, which he was happy to see got both her and Tommy laughing at his expense

 _Much, much later_

Oliver came too slowly, whatever was in the dart doing quite a number on him, blinking rapidly to try clear his blurred vision he could finally see: 3 people all wearing skull masks that resembled actual bone, the furthest one with their gun hanging off a strap around their neck.

'Hello Mr. Queen' one of them spoke, Oliver assumed it was the closest but he couldn't tell due to the masks 'You're going to answer a few questions for us' he continued in a low tone, jabbing a taser into Oliver's ribs to ensure he had his attention 'Now… did your father survive the accident?' he asked, going for another jab when he didn't receive an answer

'He did' Oliver answered slowly, the guy in front of him stepping closer, enabling him to see near reflective silver eyes staring into his own

'Really. And what did he tell you?' this time there was no shock, they were getting what they wanted

Oliver's eyes flicked around the room, stopping at Tommy still unconscious as well as the 2 other guys standing guard before he spoke 'He said… that I'm going to kill you' he answered, just above a whisper

The men laughed, based on the sound the closest one actually sounded like a cackle 'You're more insane than the boss, how're you gonna do that, zip cuffed to the chair?' he asked still laughing, until Oliver put up his hands

'Not anymore'

' _Shit_ ' one of them cursed as the closest one made to strike him, Oliver ducking out of the way and slamming the chair into their head, cracking the mask and at best knocking him out, grabbing the taser from his body and jabbing it into the 2nd guy's neck multiple times. It was at this point the 3rd managed to unfreeze after the shock, and started firing, Oliver using his accomplice as a human shield, at which point the guy turned tail and ran. Dropping the body to the floor he quickly checked Tommy, glad to see he was still alive just unconscious, leaving him there where it was safest.

Oliver chased the 3rd guy but even with the leaps he used for shortcuts he was still getting away. Oliver lost sight of him for a minute but when he regained him he saw the other man wasn't alone, not that it mattered as the newcomer had snapped his neck mere moments after he caught sight of them, then turned his focus to Oliver. Oliver froze and looked into the partly reflective visor of the person's helmet, noting it seemed to be stylized into a set of jaws around his face, the deep purple suit (he purposefully avoided even mentally referring to it as spandex) as well as some kind of hook like blade on his hip. The man tilted his head whether in confusion or amusement Oliver didn't know and a low chuckle escaped the helmet. As Oliver approached him he quickly turned and ran, disappearing quite easily despite Oliver being practically right behind him.

Later – Queen Mansion

'So you're saying a guy in a green hood busted in and freed you guys?' Detective Lance asked with a noticeable look of disbelief on his face

'Yes' Oliver answered, the older man sighing in annoyance

'Just great, another costumed freak showing up in our city' he mutter's angrily

'By another, you mean a guy with a helmet and some kind of purple suit?' Oliver asked, curious about the mysterious vigilante.

Despite himself Detective Lance chuckled 'Nobody's been able to agree on the colour black or purple but I'll admit more people do say purple. Why do you ask?

'When the hood guy freed me I ran to try get help, unfortunately I ended up going the same way as my 3rd kidnapper, though I didn't discover this until I ran into the purple guy snapping his neck' Oliver explains

'So you got saved by both vigilantes?'

I don't think so, he seemed as close to confused as a man without a face can look when he saw me, I think whoever the 3rd guy was, he must have tangled with the purple guy before' Oliver offered as an explanation, to which Lance's partner seemed to agree

'It's possible, he doesn't kill everyone he tangles with; some just get a bit sliced up or severely beaten. Your kidnapper must have been someone who the Raptor took down before and the guy doesn't give people 3rd chances'

'If that's all I believe you can leave' Moira stated politely but Oliver could see she was tense and twitchy

 _Car park – couple of days later_

'So was it just Robin Hood or were there some of the others? Little John? Friar Tuck, maybe maid Marian?' Quinton asked with heavy sarcasm

'I'm just telling you what happened. This guy attacked me and threatened to do it again, I'm going to make sure he doesn't get the chance' Hunt storms off muttering indistinct gibberish as far as the detectives could tell.

'What do you think Quinton?'

Lance sighed heavily 'His description matches the one Queen gave us; it's probably the same guy. Don't know what the connection is, both are rich douche bags but he saved Queen and nearly kills Hunt. Better keep an eye on this. I guess the only good thing is it isn't the other guy otherwise we'd have a body with a stab wound between the ribs and an impaled heart. Not that anyone would mourn someone like Hunt kicking the bucket but murder is still illegal'

'True'

Later that evening

'I've got 5 years of drinking and debauchery to catch up on; I hope all you lovely people can help me with that' Oliver yells, getting down to the entire room cheering

'Nice work Oliver, it's like you never left' Tommy said with a smile before handing him his drink

Oliver nodded 'Yeah, it's good to be back' until he noticed someone who really shouldn't be there, causing him to quickly head over.

'Thea what are you doing here?'

'Ollie! Tommy!' Thea cheered happily hugging both guys in turn 'Awesome party by the way'

'You didn't answer the question, what are you doing here?' Oliver asked a little sterner

Thea giggled as she rolled her eyes 'Jeez Oliver, bi-polar much? Bring on the debauchery… except my sister she needs to be put in a convent till she's 32'

'Are you on something?' Oliver asked, seeing some of the other girls Thea was with definitely were

'Seriously Oliver, it's not illegal to smile. You should give it a try, much easier to trick a girl into your bed if you don't look like there's a clamp attached to your balls' without any chance to retort Thea had already turned around to go, Oliver noticing her drop 2 white pills into her shot, turning it a slight purple colour before downing it.

'You'd think she'd have learnt from us' Oliver grumbles with a sigh

Tommy chuckled 'Oh she did, she learnt from watching her big brother that the best way to party is to get high or shitfaced during it and at worst your male parental figure will come bail you out. Already happened earlier this year: guy was a little creepy, bony as all heck with some weird coiled snake ring' Oliver looks at him with a raised eyebrow 'What it was really noticeable'

Once he managed to get away from Laurel and then Diggle, Oliver quickly put on his hood and suit then slipped into Hunt's building. Oliver knew he'd upped his security rather than simply followed his instructions, as well as the fact he needed a perfect shot in order to accomplish what he had planned. As he did one final check of his equipment he hoped he didn't have to actually kill Adam Hunt, it seemed a little early in his mind for The List to become an actual Hit list.

The lights flickered off as the elevator reached it's destination worked just as Oliver hoped, not only did it distract the guards, but while well paid they weren't that good at hitting things they could barely see (something he had learnt to do over the years), there was also the momentary lull in their focus caused by simple confusion which Oliver used to take one out before beating his way through a few more, ducking behind a pillar when one of them remembered ' _oh yeah we have guns… ha, ha_ ' and started firing on him. Dumb as rocks these guys were but hey if Hunt wants to spend his money on them why should he try stop him, at least it gave him a meat shield/ distraction for one of the few competent ones which he made sure to take out the moment he had a shot. He then turned and fired at Hunt, passing less than an inch from the man's cheek

'Ha you missed' Hunt sneered, the Arrow glanced over and smirked… he hadn't

'I wasn't aiming for you' he growled, shattering a window before jumping out of it and sliding down to the opposite building.

Back at the party a little while later

'Adam Hunt was just attacked by the hood guy'

'Who's Adam Hunt?'

'Rich guy snob, surprised you're not friends'

Oliver shrugged 'Don't remember ever meeting him, but I've been out of town for quite a while' Lance grunted and turned to leave when he was called back'Hey Detective was it just the hood guy or did the purple one in the helmet show up too?'

'Just the hood guy' he answered with clenched teeth

'Okay. Hey everyone! 1 million dollars for anyone who has any information about some freak in a green hood. Also less important but I'm sure the SCPD can use all the help they can get so $650,000 for any useful info on the Raptor guy' Oliver announces then gives the detectives a grin which says _'my work here is done'_

'That's strange' Tommy mused

'Hm?' Oliver looks over curiously

'The other day we get kidnapped and the hood guy saves us, then tonight the hood attacks a guy practically right next door to us'

'Maybe I've got a guardian angel… that does vigilante work on the side' Oliver half jokes

'All things considered it sounds like something that'd happen to you' Tommy nodded with a chuckle

 _The next morning_

'So Adam Hunt got robbed the other night, cops say it was the hood guy'

'Yes and I've never been more glad Queen Consolidated switched to Cipher Security a couple of years back'

'Cipher?' Oliver asked curious

'Yes, one of your father's old business partners… in fact he still does R&D work with the company, recommended a friend of his, did a complete overhaul of the company's security system and we haven't had a problem since' Walter explained, having been the one to set it up after all.

'Oh… well at least we won't have to worry about some crazy guy with a bow and arrow attacking us then' Oliver saud with a shrug

'Exactly dear'

 _That night_

Moira didn't like waiting around, particularly when she was the one who set up the meeting. When she heard the tell, tell clicking on the ground she knew he had arrived as well as reminding her if not for the cane (and the ' _accident_ ' that necessitated it) she wouldn't have known he was there 'So, report?' she says evenly causing him to smirk

'The detectives and Starling's police department can look all they want, they won't find those men, my guys are called Spectres for a reason' he replied with a smile 'Want us to try again? They normally prevent these kinds of things but I'm sure they'll get it right 2nd time' he asked, to which Moira shook her head

'No, that won't be needed. There are other ways to find out what Oliver knows'

TBC

LW: Finally it's done, now it's a toss up as to whether the next chapter will be Arrow or Supergirl (Can't do Flash till the story reaches that point… same with Legends)


	2. Chapter 2

LW: I wonder how many people forgot this fic existed until it showed up in their updates. Or how many people thought I forgot about it, as I'm sure they believe I have done with quite a few of my fics. Either way, here's chapter 2

Friendly reminder that narration is the same _italic underline_ as location/time jump transition (such as _A little while later_ ), just in quotation marks as Oliver is talking.

Kaos in DC: Arrow – Settling in

 _Morning – Queen Mansion_

Oliver walks into the main room, hiding a slight smile as he hears about his most recent outing as the Hood on the news, able to cross off another now Marcus Redfield had done as he was told "This nutter gets more airtime than the Kardashians" he quips, feeling the groan before Thea even opens her mouth

"5 years on an island and you still know who they are?" she asks with a raised eyebrow

"I'm currently playing catch up on what I've missed these past 5 years, Tommy said I should get a Captain America notebook…something I'm sure I'll understand when I get around to watching them"

"You'll like Black Widow in her skin tight cat suit, not sure about the buff guys punching things" she replies with a shrug

"I'll have you know violence is almost as good as beautiful women when it comes to getting a man to watch a movie" Oliver defends

Moira tries hide a smile, she'd missed her kids play fight like this "The City didn't used to be like this, people used to feel safe"

Thea gives a sarcastic/condescending frown (Oliver wasn't sure neither expression fit on the face he remembered of his little sister) "Ah, what's wrong mom, think we're next on his hit list?"

"Are you ready to go Oliver, no questions?" Walter asks, finally speaking since Oliver entered the room "Just a simple proof of life statement, you read it to the judge, they sign off and your death in absentia is voided and you can go about your day" he explains, Oliver nods it does sound simple in theory

"Don't worry Walter, it's not my first time in court" Oliver tries to assure the older gentleman

"No, this would be the… 5th I think" Tommy says as he enters the room, grinning widely before listing the ones he could think of "There was the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi asshole who had it coming, stealing the taxi, which was a lot of fun by the way, and who could forget peeing on the cop"

Moira's face pinches slightly "Myself and Quinton would really love for people to forget that" she sighs, reminding Oliver of another of many reasons Detective Lance hated him, though they'd be here all day if he was forced to list them.

"Um, Tommy I have to get to court very soon…" Oliver begins, his friend just chuckles

"I know, it's why I'm here. My best friend is getting legally resurrected, why would I miss that?"

Oliver smiles and turns to Thea "And you?"

She nods "Yeah, nice to see you in court and not be in trouble for once" Oliver lightly head slaps her as she passes, then sidestepping the kick to the knee she tried to retaliate with

"Mr. Queen" Oliver turns to see Diggle standing stiffly "The car is ready for you all"

 _The courtroom_

"There was a storm, the boat went down, I was the only survivor" Oliver recites, trying to stop the memories of the Gambit's sinking bubbling to the surface, of loosing Sara, his father's suicide, everything else he had to deal with on that island fighting to break the surface "My father didn't make it" he chokes a little at those words, hearing the gun go off in his mind, a well as trying to ignore the tears in his mother and sister's eyes when they hear him plainly state their husband/father was dead and never coming back "I almost died, I thought I had, because I spent so many days on that life raft just clinging to life before I saw the island. When I reached it, I knew, I had to live for both of us. And those 5 years, it was that single thought that kept me going, kept me pushing my way from one day to the next" his heart flutters, even after all this time thinking about that day hurts

"Your Honour, we move to vacate the death in absentia filed when Oliver Queen disappeared aboard the Queen's Gambit 5 years ago" The Queen family lawyer Alura states "Unfortunately this will not be the case for Robert Queen. It seems the Queen family only gets one miracle revival"

A little later the family, and Tommy but he was practically a Queen at this point, exited the courtroom and were making their way down the stairs "Well that's thankfully over, next stop is the offices, everyone I waiting" Moira explains with a little bit of an enthusiastic smile on her face, until Oliver stops her

"Um, Mom. That took a lot more intense than I thought it would be, think we can leave the office visit for tomorrow?" he asks, Moira's features pinch and her lips curl down for a moment before agreeing: it had been bad enough for both Queen women and they only had to listen to it, Oliver was most likely reliving it as he spoke. Oliver smiles at her acceptance before he turns his head and is meet by Tommy's curious look "Yes?"

"A week ago you couldn't wait to get to the Company" he states as it had been strange for him when he first heard

"I've been on a deserted island for 5 years Tommy, I clearly wasn't thinking straight" Oliver waves off, Tommy believing him as he had assumed the same at the time. All was going well, right until he nearly walked right into Laurel, accompanied by Johanna, and a rather meek, young looking blond woman "Hi" he greets awkwardly, a statement mirrored by Tommy

"What are you doing here?" Laurel asks, a little annoyance in her surprise

"They were bringing me back from the dead, legally speaking as I'd been declared dead while I was gone" Oliver explains

"I was here for moral support, though even for me, that was heavy" Tommy admits, shuddering

"Hello" Oliver says with a smile, the woman looking very skittish in the Courthouse

"Stop it" Laurel scolds, Oliver raising his hands in surrender

"I didn't do anything, I just said hello"

"For you that's enough"

(I think Laurel's forgotten which one is John Barrowman's kid… also which character Barrowman is playing in this show)

Oliver rolls his eyes "So why are you here?"

"My job" Laurel states coldly

"She means the DA's job" Johanna adds helpfully "This is Emily Nocenti"

"Once again Hello" Oliver tries again, Emily nods and takes the handshake

"This is Oliver Queen. He just got back from 5 years on an island in the middle of the Pacific, before that he was cheating on me with my sister, she went on the boat with him and died soon after. Last week he told me to stay away from him and it's been working out pretty good so far" she says to Emily, but her eyes don't leave Oliver's the entire time "Excuse me" she hums as she pushes past the two, Johanna and Emily giving small nods and waves before following her up the stairs

"Well, that went well" Tommy quips following Oliver as they exit the courthouse where Martin Somers was surrounded by reporters and even if he hadn't seen the man's name in the book earlier in the week Oliver would have disliked him, swarmy and slimy in a way the made him feel unclean even this close to him, he kept moving down the steps without looking back, meeting Diggle at the car just before the paparazzi finally noticed him. Driving off without Tommy or Diggle probably wasn't the best way to repay him though

"This happens to you a lot doesn't it?" Tommy asks, a little amused by Oliver's escape attempts/disappearances, even though he was a little annoyed at being ditched himself.

 _Later that night_

" _Given Laurel's seemingly inbuilt sense of justice and how bad the people on the List were, it's no wonder there would be overlap, the problem is that Adam Hunt was one thing, all he had was his money, Sumers was much worse and just jumped up_ _ **my**_ _list on when he gets a visit from the Hood. Though it seems Somers was a popular guys, with more than just myself and Laurel after him it would appear…"_

Oliver snuck into the docks, counting his luck rather than being suspicious of a lack of heavy guard presence, intending to have a quick ' _chat_ ' with Somers, only to find him unconscious and held upside-down from a crane

"Hello Mr Somers" Raptor spoke after slapping him awake, the electronically altered voice sounding low and gravely (Currently it sounds somewhere between Jigsaw/Billy and Savatar in my head, but whatever works for you) "I'm sure you can guess why I'm here, but in case you don't… You are going to confess to having Victor Nocenti killed, as well as allowing the Triad to run their operations through your port" he orders, surprising Oliver

"You, you're insane if you think I'm going to d..ahh" Somers screams as Raptor slices his cheek

"Yes I am, but that's not the point. Confess or I'll be back to make sure you do" there's an audible smirk behind the mask as the vigilante turns on his heels and leaves, ignoring Somers demands he be let down. Seeing his job had been done for him, Oliver heads home, though thinks to himself he should still keep an extra close eye on this case.

 _Later on_

"Now I'm not a bodyguard but I'm pretty sure the first thing you need to do is stay next to the person you're supposed to be protecting" Moira snarks, laying into Diggle for once more loosing Oliver

"In my defence Ma'am I've never had a client who didn't want my protection before" Diggle responds

"I'm the one who hired you, that makes me the client"

"Then maybe I should be keeping an eye on you Ms Queen"

Moira sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose "This is getting us nowhere. Now where do you think my son is going after loosing you?" she asks

"I honestly don't know" Diggle answers

"And he truly doesn't" Oliver adds, appearing in the doorway

"Then maybe you'd like to tell me where you go, as I'm clearly not going to get the information from anywhere else?"

"Mom, I was alone on that island for 5 years"

"I'm aware of that"

"No Mom. **ALONE** "

Moira's cheeks pink "Oh"

"If it helps it was technically Tommy's idea, though I still don't know what Twilight is"

"Probably for the best" Moira admits "Thea threw the books out the window and I got about 20 minutes in before changing the channel" she then refocuses herself

"I promise I'll introduce you when we get to the whole… first name thing" Oliver says rather casually

"No, what I'd prefer is you take Mr Diggle with you next time, you've been abducted after only being home a week and there's a maniac out there hunting the wealthy"

"That maniac saved me life" Oliver retorts, feeling a little hurt that his mother would call him that, even if unknowingly

"Oliver take this seriously! I lost you once, for 5 years. I'm not doing that again"

Oliver nods solemnly "Okay. Dig's my guy" that seemed to placate his mother who leaves the room "Sorry to give you so much grief" he apologises to the man who actually chuckles

"I served 3 tours in Afghanistan, you don't even come close to my definition of grief" he then walks over to Oliver to head to the door "I will tell you one thing though, ditch me again and you won't need to fire me. We clear?"

"Crystal" Oliver nods, missing Thea sneak out the other door as he saw the older man out.

 _Next day_

"…some freak with a hook thing, attacked me, said he'd be back. I'm upping my security and they'll have dealt with this problem shortly" Martin Somers explains with a twitch in his neck

"Well, we'll put an APB on Zelda and send a cruiser over every now and then just to make sure you're not dead" Lance quips flippantly, though still wrote down the statement given to him

Somers sneers "Isn't you being here a conflict of interests Detective? After all, your daughter is suing me"

Lance smiles "Don't worry, I'm very good at keeping my emotions in check"

"I'm not" Somers retorts "Neither you or your daughter want to see what happens when I get emotional"

 _Outside Somers building_

"Quinton, you do know Zelda isn't…"

"Yes I do, Sara loved those games her own words were I believe 'A cool sword and saving the princess, where do I sign?" Lance replies, chuckling to himself then frowns

"Then why did you say that in front of Somers?" Hilton asks curiously

Quinton sighs "Because I lied, I'm not good at separating my feelings from the job. Like he said Laurel is suing him and that scumbag is in bed with the Triad, not that we can do anything about it without evidence. So I'm being obtuse and a dick, and I'm admitting to being both, because it prevents me from shooting or knocking out and arresting that bastard" Hilton nods in understanding, if it means his partner keeps his badge he'll ignore him being a dick to the more irritating of _victims_.

 _Queen Consolidated_

"Thank you for having this meeting on such short notice Mr Steel"

"It's fine Mr Smyth, I had the hour free and you usually only need to talk for important things" the man waves off as he opens the door for the limping gentleman "And there's my next appointment" he jokes, seeing Moira, Oliver and Diggle exit the lift

"Ms Queen, Mr. Queen" James grins and nods his head, leaning on his left with his hand gripping the snake's head of his cane "Welcome back"

"A pleasure as always" Moira responds slightly tense, letting him pass

Oliver looks confused "I know him from somewhere"

Moira leads him into the office "He was a friend of your father's don't worry about it. Now Oliver, Walter and I have something to discuss with you, please sit"

Oliver's eyes widen slightly and his muscles tense "Mom, it makes me nervous when you ask me to sit, it usually meant I was in trouble for something you'd actually caught me doing"

Walter chuckles "Nothing like that Oliver. The company is breaking new ground with the building of a new Applied Science divison and we would like to dedicate it to your father"

Oliver smiles "Sure sounds great, this could have be talked about over dinner though"

"Because that's not all" Moira explains "We would also like to make an announcement at the dedication, that you would be taking a leadership role within the company"

"No" Oliver answers immediately, surprising everyone "I don't want to lead anything, besides Walter is doing just fine as things are"

"Oliver, you said you wanted to b a different person than you were before the Gambit. You are Robert Queen's son…"

"I don't need to be reminded of that" Oliver interrupts

"Clearly you do"

Walter then tries to placate both Queens "Everyone understands that this transition is difficult for you" he says calmly, a hand on Moira's waist to keep her centred

"Thank you Walter" he nods "Which part though, that you all think I was majoring in business while on the island, or that my father's CFO now sleeps down the hall from me?" Oliver asks, irritation growing in his voice. Walter looked like he'd been slapped, while Moira just looked disappointed

 _Queen Manor_

"Holy crap, where'd you get those" Thea gasps as she runs over, Oliver mid way through putting on a shirt

"Don't you ever knock?" Oliver grunts, trying to stop his sister stripping him (Yes that was intentional)

"Then close your fucking door" she bites back, giving up but managing to stop his closing the shirt so she could see the damage done to his front "Mom said there were scars but… oh God Ollie what happened to you out there?" she chokes back a sob

Oliver sighs deeply and closes his shirt "I don't want to talk about it"

Thea scoffs "Oh course you don't, you only want to talk to me when you're complaining about my drinking or my SMILES, or… actually you've managed to stay zip about my wardrobe so thanks for restraining yourself that much" she turns and begins to make her way back out of the room

"Wait" she stops, more curious than anything "Where are you going?"

"Why do you care?" she huffs glaring at his

"I'm sorry Thea" the apology surprises her, causing her eyes to soften "I…I need to learn to interact with people again, and I need to get better at talking about what happened to me while I was gone… but I haven't gotten to that point yet, okay?"

Thea's arms remain crossed over her chest, but she no longer looked angry, more tired "Do you have a second?"

"I'm not going anywhere for a while so yes"

"Good, follow me" she then leaves the room, Oliver following behind at a brisk pace

Thea takes Oliver into their backyard, where there were 2 gravestones, one labelled Robert Queen and the other labelled Oliver Queen, seeing his own grave definitely sent a cold chill down Oliver's spine, but he was here for Thea so he ignored it

"Sometimes when I was feeling, stuff I'd come out here" Thea explains, wiping the leaves that had collected on her father and brother's graves as she did "About a month after the funerals, Mom stopped coming out, then she stopped talking to me altogether. It was just me Dad, and you, Kaos tried but he couldn't be with me all the time. I came out here often, talked about stupid shit, how my day was, my most recent crush, and sometimes, when things were really bad; I asked you, begged and pleaded to anything that would listen for you to come back to me Ollie. But now you're here, and it's like you're still dead, in fact it's worse because I can't come out here and talk to you because YOU are in the house, judging me. Look I know it was Hell where you were, but it wasn't sunshine and rainbows over here. You need to open up to someone Ollie, you're not on that island any more there are people out here who care about you, who want to be there for you if you'd just let us"

 _That evening_

Laurel was actually surprised when Oliver Queen was what she saw out her peephole "You know it's very difficult to stay away from you if you come to me" she says in annoyance, though Oliver was already aware of her feelings given her eyes were trying to melt holes through his skull a this very moment "What are you doing here"

"My sister pointed out rather bluntly what I was being distant, had been since I got back, and made a good point that I should let someone in"

Laurel snorts "And so you chose me, the first person you pushed away?"

"Yes. I did that to protect you, but then I saw you yesterday and I realised that my attempt to spare you pain, instead caused you pain" Given she didn't slam the door in his face, but instead just moved aside he took that to mean he was allowed in "Thank you" he says politely, taking in the whole apartment, as well as memories of their time together here "This place hasn't changed in 5 years" he says mostly to himself but Laurel heard him

"I haven't really had time to redecorate" she replies heatedly

"I'm a jerk" she turns, wondering where this was going "I've always been a jerk, but after the Gambit I'm a damaged jerk"

"What's in the bag?" she asks, referring to the brown paper bag Oliver had brought into her home with him

"I thought about a lot of things on the island, I thought about this a lot, I even dreamed about it once. In fact, I promised myself that if I ever got back, I'd sit you down and we'd do this together" he said, opening up the paper bag "You, me, this carton of ice cream"

Laurel laughs causing Oliver to smile in response "How can I refuse? Sure"

"I hope you have spoons in here cause I was worried you'd say no so didn't bring any myself"

Laurel rolls her eyes, but there was no heat in them this time "Of course you didn't"

 _Later_

"Not that I'm not enjoying this, I haven't had ice cream in quite a while even without being lost on an island, but I have to say, this was not what I expected when you started talking about what was in the bag"

"You thought sex didn't you?" Laurel nods "No, I know a stupid idea when I think one. I'm thinking about waiting around 7 years and if I'm still good looking at that point then try my chances, you might be okay with me again by then" Oliver smiles, then grunts when Laurel proceeds to punch him in the shoulder

"Hey, we're doing alright, and I don't have any real problem with you besides you still being a dick who cheated on me, true I'm definitely NOT sleeping with you anytime soon, but 7 years seems a little too much"

"Well I thought it better to be safe than sorry with you Laurel. Plus if I play my cards right I should be your 2nd husband"

Laurel raises an eyebrow "2nd, what happened to the first?"

"If it's Tommy, you two parted way amicably, you even introduced him to his current wife and we're all 3 best friends like we were before the island, and if not… nothing you can prove" he explains with a smirk

She nods, chuckling before taking another spoonful "So, you're here to talk, so talk to me Ollie"

Oliver sighs deeply, a little annoyed he had to be serious, especially when Laurel was making him feel relaxed and normal for the first time in probably years "Mom wants me to join the company, take my rightful place as you say"

"Hm, President of Earth doesn't really seem like something you'd do, the paperwork alone" Laurel fake shudders, leading to Oliver shoving at her leg, then smiles softly

"Quite. It may surprise you and everyone else, but after 5 years I do have plans and desires of my own for the future, none of which I can do behind a desk or in board meetings"

Laurel clicks her tongue and laughs "Something you actually have in common with my dad" at his horrified expression she explains "Dad is a man of action, he actually likes being out there trying to make this city better himself, if he ever got put on desk duty, he'd kill someone" when Oliver nods in agreement she continues "So, have you tried telling her no? You are an adult and it's a 2 letter word"

"Tried that, didn't take. Clearly it appears Thea and I got our stubbornness from Mom"

Laurel frowns before responding "Then don't just tell her, show her. Make her understand and see the you that you're becoming. It should work, you're not someone who gives up easily"

"You have a point there" Oliver agrees before tensing, which Laurel notices instantly "Someone's here" he whispers as he grabs the knife from the table, it was pretty blunt, but would do and was clearly better than empty hands as he pulled her further into her apartment, barely avoiding the Asian man's machine gun fire "Do I even want to ask what you did to have these guys after you?" he asks, as China White and another Triad member force their way into her apartment.

"No, but so long as we survive this Somers is sunk" Laurel replies, after all what proves Triad collusion better than 3 members including their best assassin showing up and trying to kill her?

 **BANG BANG**

One of the gunmen fall with 2 bullets in the back, Diggle stepping into the apartment just as he hits the ground, taking out the other triad goon before her could fire back, leaving only him and China. Unfortunately for Diggle she was the best of the 3, able to disarm him, though his own training enabled him to relieve her of one of her knives in the process.

Knocking John onto his back, China went for the killing blow, only for the kitchen knife Oliver threw to knock hers out of reach. Disarmed and with the sound of police sirens nearby China cut her losses and ran, getting away before SCPD, Quinton Lance at the head of the charge, arrived

"Laurel!" he yells, as he enters, his daughter running over to him

"Dad" she mumbles as he holds her, then pulls away with a snap "The officers?" she asks, causing the elder Lance to grimace

"I went over to ask for a light, they were already dead" Diggle answers, drawing attention to himself and to a certain extent, Oliver "Sorry about that sir, John Diggle"

Lance waves it off "You saved my girl Mister Diggle, so I don't really care"

"Just doing my job sir"

"No, your job is protecting him" Lance corrects, pointing a finger at Oliver "Speaking of…"

"Daddy, no" Laurel warns, surprising them

"Sweetie"

"I know what you were going to say. To stay away from me, probably including a threat to arrest or shoot him" Quinton looks away, that was the plan basically "The thing is, you're forgetting something very important, if he had done that, I'd be dead right now. Because like you said, Mr. Diggle saved me, and he was only here because Ollie-ver was, if he hadn't been here I'd have been alone, outnumbered 3 to 1 and you'd have found me either riddled with bullets, or with my throat slit ear to ear"

Quinton's jaw clenches, not liking where this was going, even after 5 years Sara's death was a sore subject, he didn't want to even think of loosing Laurel as well "Just keep your nose clean Mr. Queen, and failing that, keep Laurel out of your shit, I'm sure you understand when I say she's ALL I have left. Do this and we won't have any more issues" he states coldly before letting them go

 _Queen Manor_

"It's not much, but it's what you need" Oliver says as he hands Diggle an ice pack "Thanks for back there"

"Maybe it'll remind you not to ditch your bodyguard so often" Dig jokes, as he accepts it "Besides, I think I owe you a thanks too. For the knife"

Oliver looks confused "The…" Diggle mimes throwing "The knife, I got lucky"

"That was a kitchen knife, not even properly weighted and you threw it across a room with enough accuracy to disarm an assassin. That's more than just luck"

Oliver shrugs "Maybe I'm naturally gifted"

"Hm" Dig grunts, not sounding convinced

 _Later that evening_

"What is it with you costumed freaks?" Somers screamed as the Hood pins his sleeves to the shipping container

"I'll ask the questions here" Oliver growls, notching another arrow "Who killed Victor Nocenti?"

"I don't know" Somers whines

 **THUNK**

"Try again" Oliver retorts, the arrow landing between the man's legs

"I…I didn't kill him, it was the Triad!"

"On who's orders?"

"They'll kill me"

"They aren't here, now tell me, on who's orders?" Oliver repeats, the next arrow embedding itself just above Somer's head

"Okay! It was me, I did it. I told them Nocenti had been sniffing around, they said they'd deal with it"

"You will not leave with that information" the Hood turns as he hears the statement, seeing China White with her knives already out. She was about halfway to Oliver and Somers when her path was blocked by Raptor

"{Hello China, and how did you get out of ARGUS custody?}" he asks in mandarin as their blades cross

"{Easily}" she hisses, swinging for his helmet only to be blocked. They clashed for a little, the difference in skill apparent as was the level of focus each put into their swings. This was clear when China weaves then rolls past him to her main objective, silencing Martin Somers before he could tattle to the cops, only to be met with another obstacle in the form of the Hood shoving her back with his bow

"I don't like people getting in my way"

"And I don't like people trying to kill Ms Lance, so neither of us are having a good night" Oliver growls back, swinging at her face which she dodges by inches

The hook on her leg pulled her to the ground, but unfortunately she was able to roll out of the way of a Grapple arrow and decided the best option was to retreat. When Oliver looked up he saw Raptor was also gone.

"Damn it" Oliver sighs as he hears police sirens, a good indicator he should be leaving too. Leaving Somers pinned Oliver made it out, nearly getting away on a cable arrow when…

"SCPD stop right there! You twitch and I put a bullet in you"

Lance, it had to be Lance. Before the older man could do anything Oliver threw a fletchette, disarming him and disappearing, Quinton would have tried to give chase until he noticed the fletchette was flashing. Pressing the button it played the entirety of Martin Sumers confession

"Damn that son of a bitch did it" Quinton sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose before retrieving the evidence

 _Foundry_

Oliver was just leaving his 'lair' when he felt like he was being watched. Wanting to dismiss it as paranoia, or a throwback from the island (especially given how rough the Glades was) he just couldn't, something felt off, which was probably why he got 5 steps before spinning on his heels, finding nothing, of course.

"Good evening Mr. Queen" boomed the synthetic voice in his ear just before Oliver turned and threw several punches, all either dodged or parried, the younger vigilante only stopping when he felt the tip of a blade against his throat

"What do you want?" he asks with a growl

"For us to officially meet, face to face, preferably without getting an arrow in my eye" Raptor replies

"If you come in peace, why ambush me?"

"Professional courtesy" at Oliver's raised eyebrow he continues "I wasn't going to show up unannounced in your lair, that would be rude"

"Thanks, I guess, though given you mentioned being rude…" Raptor chuckles and puts his hooked blade back on his hip

"Better? Good, now as I was going to say we're both running around this city it would most likely be more efficient and help things along if we at least co-ordinate our efforts"

Oliver gives him a look "Are you suggesting we team up?" he asks sceptically to which Raptor laughs

"No, I prefer to work independently and you clearly don't trust easy, so a team would be doomed to failure from the start at this point. Maybe one day though. For the moment maybe we can take the first step, and just be 2 people trying to clean up this place and not get in each others way. Is that acceptable Mr Queen?"

"Give me time to consider"

"That's fine, I'm not going anywhere" with a shallow bow Raptor left, practically blending into the shadows, much to Oliver's displeasure

 _The next morning_

"So, what's it like, your brother back from the dead?" James asks, sitting up with the Queen's both as a family friend and the future lead researcher of Applied Science, once the building was complete of course.

Thea sighs before answering, ignoring Walter's speech she felt like she'd heard him practice 100 times in the mansion this week "Exhausting. Don't get me wrong, the times he acts like Ollie did before the island is almost soothing, but other times, I don't even know what I'm looking at, then there's the judgemental busybody version I just want to slap…."

"Hey! What about me? I'm a legacy!" Oliver shouts as he arrives to the event, looking pretty close to hammered if he wasn't already, this early in the morning

"And then there's times I'm convinced he lost his mind while stuck in that Hell Hole" Thea finishes, flicking her hands in Oliver's direction, before the man clambers onto the stage, delivers quite a serious speech and walks off.

' _You just keep them guessing don't you Oliver?_ ' James thinks with a wide grin, pupils contracting into slits just for a moment

TBC

LW: So, after all this time, chapter 2 had finally shown up, hope you enjoyed


	3. Chapter 3

LW: Here we go another chapter and another villain of the week.

Kaos in DC: Arrow – Deadshot

 _Evening – Penthouse of James Holder_

"…Besides my legal bill I'm having a great day thank you, besides now the lawsuit has been settled we can focus on Unidac Industries. Okay, I'll see you first thing tomorrow" Holder smiles as he ends the call, raising his beer to his mouth though it shatters before it gets close, an arrow in the wall the clear culprit "Fuck" he hisses before turning to see the Hood standing across from him "I have armed security inside, all I need to do is shout and they'll be out here in moments"

"You do that, they can't hear you" The Hood responds, throwing their guns into the pool

Holder swallows "What do you want?"

"How many people died in those fires? HOW MANY!" he shouts "James Holder, the courts say you don't owe your victims or their families anything, I disagree. You have…"

 **Bang Bang**

Before he could finish what was pretty much becoming his catchphrase, 2 shots ring out, both getting Holder in the heart, causing him to die almost instantly and fall into the pool. Oliver fires in the direction the shots came from, then stepped behind a wall "Raptor" he says gruffly into his com link

"Hello Mr. Hood" the other vigilante responds, avoiding a hail of bullets by stepping behind a support pillar just in time

"You don't use guns right?" he asks

Raptor scoffs "Not for this line of work, too impersonal" he complains, peering out from behind cover to throw his khopesh, tearing through one of the gangster's throats before pulling it back "In front of and without a screen I'm fairly good with a sniper rifle. Can I ask why?"

"Wanted to make sure the guy who killed my target tonight wasn't you" he answers, gritting his teeth as one of the sniper's bullets imbedded himself in his right forearm "You don't happen to also have medical knowledge do you?"

Raptor waited until he heard the crack and let the body drop before responding "Yes I do, I'll meet you in your Arrow Cave" he says, with the usual smirk stepping over the bodies as he leaves

"It's not… you know what, never mind" Oliver sighs, though with the sniper gone all he could do was head back to the foundry

 _Later_

"Well, that's one more scar for the collection" James muses as he stitches up the bullet wound "I would ask about them and the tattoos but I'm sure I'd get as much of an answer…"

"As why you walk with a cane, when you're perfectly fine" Oliver responds, standing and readjusting his shirt

James chuckles "It functions as a disguise and a way to hide what I do. The helmet hides my face and voice, the cane means nobody even considers the man with a limp as the guy with a hookblade attacking criminals and weaving around gunfire" he retrieves said cane from the table, the ruby eyes flash in the lights of the display when he hears Oliver collapse "Crap" he mutters, rushing over

"Poison. Herbs. Trunk" Oliver wheezes, waving his arm in the direction of his trunk

"I'll owe you a lock" he sighs as he strides over and removes the herbs as well as a bottle of water

 _Couple hours later_

Oliver groans, feeling like his skull had been cracked open and an alarm clock stuffed inside "You doing well Sleeping Beauty?" James ask from his computer

"Feels like a hangover from Hell"

"And you would know" he ignores the glare and tosses him the bullet he'd just had removed from his arm "Your sniper wants to be EXTRA sure his targets are dead, given he coats his ammo in poison"

"Sounds like a signature, get any hits?" Oliver asks, assuming James had done some digging while he was recovering, might as well make use of the resources available while he was here after all.

"Yes. Curare is a pretty unique signature add that to a sniper rifle and you get one hit: Deadshot. Too bad all they know is his M.O. and the name due to the fact he never misses" he passes the laptop to Oliver who frowns

"You missed something important, that he's a gun for hire, meaning James Holder was a hit, and the person how hired him may have more in mind, or in Deadshot's crosshairs"

"Which means you'll get a rematch; try not get shot this time. Also, now seems like the best time to recommend body armour of some kind, or at least something thicker than your current suit"

"The point isn't to be bullet-proof, it's to not be there in the first place" Oliver replies "Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be, good day"

 _Meanwhile/earlier, at the crime scene_

"So Lance, what you got?"

"Well, we have clear signs of the Hood's involvement…" he begins, pointing back into the building and then the wall behind him "…based on the arrows in the bodyguards and wall." He then points to the body, recently pulled from the pool "But, our vic wasn't killed by an arrow"

"What do you mean? I don't even need to double check to know this guy was a rich scumbag, you even proved the Hood was here"

"Yes, but given he was killed not just with a bullet, but a double tap to the chest with a rifle, I think we should rule him out. Looks like the Hood had competition tonight, I'm just glad the one who's path crosses this lunatic wasn't my daughter this time"

"The problem is, now we have a mad sniper on our hands, on top of the 2 vigilantes we already can't catch"

Quinton sighs loudly "If there is a god, he's laughing at us right now"

 _Later, Main level of the Foundry_

"What do you think?" Oliver asks as he pulls open the main door "Great spot for a nightclub or what?" turning back to Tommy and Diggle at the 2nd question

"Nice place, but you may want to pick a different name than Queen's, got that?" Tommy says grinning widely

"Private office" Oliver continues, pointing to the upper level

"For the 1 on 1 meetings?" Tommy asks, winking

"And occasional 2 on 1" Oliver counters, falling into old habits, playing the role he was best known for

Tommy laughs and nods, before his expression comes as close to serious as it could "Are you sure you're serious about this, I mean you've never run…. Anything really" Oliver stares impassively, not having any rebuttal and just waiting to see where this was going "How about, tomorrow night you and I got scope out the competition? There's a new club downtown, Poison, Max Fuller runs it"

Oliver grimaces "I slept with his fiancé"

Tommy shrugs "It was before the wedding"

"It was at the rehearsal dinner" Oliver corrects

"Which is still before the wedding" Tommy and Oliver laugh then his phone beeps "Sorry I've got to run, I like the idea and shall see you tomorrow" he waves as he exits.

Once more or less alone Oliver turns to Diggle "So, what do you think?"

"I'm hear to keep you safe, not comment on your actions" Diggle replies

"Dig, do me a favour and speak freely, I want to know what you think" Oliver repeats

Diggle hums "This is the Glades we're in, your rich white friends wouldn't come to a place like this on a bet"

"You're forgetting, I am Oliver Queen, people come where I go"

"And the people of the Glades don't see a penny of that money" Diggle grouses

"We make this a successful business, we gentrify the neighbourhood" Oliver replies with a smile

Diggle sighs "I did see that coming. The white knight swooping in and cleaning up the neighbourhood, all on his lonesome, not accepting help from anyone"

Oliver winces "You really don't think much of me do you Dig?"

"Actually, I have a high regard for how perceptive you are, and I think you already know that" Diggle says, ending his part of the conversation

 _Later_

"Do I even want to know where you got that?"

"No come in the door's not locked or anything" Oliver grumbles, not taking his eyes off the bullet "And to answer your question, I believe the correct term is I have 'mad skills' " James laughs

"7.62mm rounds, and the Russian mob, now what?"

Oliver stands "I have my ways, lock the door on the way out"

"Yes Mr Queen, whatever you want Mr Queen"

 _Later, elsewhere_

Oliver moves covertly…ish as he enters the autoshop "I wish to speak to Alexi Leonov" he says in perfect Russian

"There is nobody here with that name" replies the older bald man in the same language

Oliver smirks "I don't mean the garage, I mean the basement underneath it" he responds, then disarms the man who comes at him with a gun "I am Bratva" he states, showing the star tattoo on his chest "And I want to speak to Alexi Leonov" he repeats

The older man bows "Pleased to meet you" he greets, this time in English, then leads Oliver into the basement "I apologise for the welcome, we mean no disrespect to a Captain, particularly an American one. So, how can I be of assistance?" he asks

"I'm looking for a hired gun, someone the organisation has used before" Oliver states, Alexi listening as he pours their drinks "His calling card is a 7.62mm round laced with curare"

"I don't know of such a man" Alexi replies

"But you can find out who does" Oliver counters

"First we drink, then I will look into finding this man you seek to hire" Alexi says, handing one glass to Oliver and both down the shot easily "I will also confirm you are Bratva captain, if not I will have my mechanic, find you, kill you and then take out your family as well"

"And if he tries, after my credentials are proven, I will kill him" Oliver states as fact

"You don't trust easy"

"I've been stabbed in the back too many times to do so" Oliver answers vaguely

 _Queen Mansion_

"Carl is the 2nd bider of Unidac to die in as many days, of which your husband is also on the list of" Lance says, his voice gruff as always

"I hope your not implying Walter had anything to do with it" Moira says angrily

"Only that he's either the culprit, or more likely a potential target" Lance's partner quickly injects, hoping to cover his ass

"Make's sense, there are a lot of people bidding for Unidac and the actual auction is tomorrow. If it was me, I have an awful lot of work to do" Walter deadpans, watching as Lance's frown deepens

"We're just making the rounds to all prospective buyers, make sure they know what's going on and to take precautions" Lance says flatly

"Thank you gentlemen, our security consultant Mister Diggle is already working to ensure I remain alive"

"You ever fire a gun Mr Steele? Or a rifle?" Lance asks as a final question

"No, not quite fond of firearms myself to be honest"

"Then you're not our guy, so keep your head down tomorrow night" he warns before both cops leave

 _That evening – Poison_

"Damn, your nightclub needs to be at least as good, but preferably better than this, because this place is killer" Tommy laughs as the 2 enter the club

"If Max Fuller sees me here, then I certainly will be" Oliver reminds him, then sees Diggle waving him over from behind the rope

"Mr. Queen" he calls, gesturing to the man in front of him

Oliver nods "I… have never seen this man in my life" he says to the bouncer, then runs back to Tommy

"You seem to enjoy pissing that guy off, not a good plan for someone meant to keep you alive" Tommy comments, though his laugh takes all the heat from his words. He then spots something that he didn't expect, Laurel Lance in the club "Wow, isn't there some kind of law tht forbids this kind of thing, like carved into a stone tablet?" he asks with a teasing smirk

["Moses, Commandment 14: Dinah Laurel Lance shall never have fun; she shall spend her life being a boring workaholic"]

Laurel rolls her eyes at him "Hilarious Tommy. Seems you've finally returned to your old hunting grounds Oliver"

Oliver shrugs "Just trying to see what passes for fun these days, I doubt ' _Don't starve_ ' is something people want to play around here"

"You'd be surprised" Tommy thinks aloud, then explains at Oliver's confused look "A game came out while you were gone with that name, heard it was actually good"

"That thought aside, I'm sure the club scene hasn't been the same without you" Laurel sighs, still ignoring her friend's requests to dance out the corner of her eye

"Big Brother!" a familiar voice cheers as Thea runs over surprisingly well for a drunk in heels an practically hugs him "I am so wasted right now, there's 2 of you" she then pouts "Damn it, 2 disapproving older brothers"

"Thea" Oliver scolds, while Tommy and Laurel take a step back, wanting to avoid family drama (the one thing Laurel doesn't miss about Sara being _dead_ , and Tommy about being an only child, even if he's an honorary Queen) "I thought you were grounded"

"I was, I am, thanks for that by the way" Thea nods, her head bobbing probably more than it should with all the alcohol in her system

Oliver sighs deeply "You've had enough tonight"

Thea chuckles "What you gonna do Ollie, tell Mom? I barely saw her before you came back, and as long as I'm not in the hospital and happy, Kaos doesn't care I'm out drinking and getting my friends exotic extras" she flashes a smile with too many teeth to look friendly

"Thea, you're clearly hanging out with the wrong people…" Oliver begins

"You're one to talk" Thea retorts, managing to stop her giggle turning into a full blown cackle at that statement "Do you know anything about your so called friends"

"Whoa, that's enough Thea" Tommy says, jumping in before things get said that shouldn't

Thea rolls her eyes "Tommy, I love yah, but shut the fuck up" she then turns to look Oliver in the eye, at least as well as she could "I get the feeling your besties didn't tell you they've been screwing while you've been gone, probably still are too" she says, anger filtering into her voice about halfway through the sentence. Laurel and Tommy look down, guilty they hadn't told him, and that Thea had been the one to spill their secret (that seems to be a theme in the Arrowverse, it's more about the secret keeping than the secret itself. What happened with Oliver and Slade, as well as Iris, Nora and the chip in her shoulder being the 1st to come to mind that show what I mean)

"Oliver" Tommy begins, but Oliver waves him off

"Tommy, its fine" he responds, then turns to Thea "We're done for the night" he says, grabbing her arm

"No" Thea hisses, pulling herself free "You're not my father, and you're barely my brother" she sneers, shoulder checking him as best she could as she storms away from the trio

As if the night hadn't gone badly enough "Well, well, Oliver Queen" Oliver mentally swear in every language he knew as he turned on his heels

"Max Fuller" he greets, seeing the club owner and a few goons standing around him "How you been?"

"Happy you drowned" Max answers, because he couldn't be any more of a dick if he tried, then had his men lead Oliver into the back room

"Hey Max…" Oliver doesn't get any more out before being punched in the face, knocking him to the ground. Resisting the urge to beat the shit out of them, Max's goons lift him up to face him, when Tommy bursts in, getting between them and Oliver

"You want to get to Oliver, you have to go through me" Tommy says, then swallows and turns from the goons to Oliver "They are really going to go through me" Oliver nods then Tommy throws the first punch, a small brawl the occurs, Oliver holding back quite a lot, and getting his ass kicked only a little less than Tommy because of it. The beatings only stopped, when Laurel came to the rescue, beating Max and throwing him to the ground

"Are we done here, or are you going to have your boys beat me up too Maxie?" she asks, cracking her knuckles, waiting for some kind of answer

Max stands, his pride clearly bruised "You three, consider yourselves banned for life. Now get the HELL out of my club!" he shouts, then leaves with his nose in the air

"I didn't intend to, this place sucks anyway" Tommy calls back, feeling a little of his confidence returning now he wasn't getting the shit beat out of him

"You 2 okay?" Laurel asks her idiots

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Oliver asks, not remembering Laurel to be able to fight when he left

"Cop dad, he made me take self defence lessons, you should have too" Laurel answers, then gives a slight jab of her own before walking off.

With that over Diggle brings them to Big Belly Burger, waving at one of the waitresses when he comes in

"She's cute" Tommy comments, automatically leering

"That's my sister in law" Diggle responds gruffly, causing the man to swallow loudly

"Who I shall never interact with or even look at again, ever" he says quietly, moving to a booth

"I don't see a wedding ring, something happen to the husband?" Oliver asks

"You could say that" Dig answers vaguely, walking over to Carla to give their order, while Oliver joins Tommy

"Look man, about Laurel…" Tommy begins again "I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how"

"To tell me you slept with my girlfriend after I went missing and was later presumed dead? That's where the greeting cards stop?" Oliver smirks and Tommy chuckles

"Still, it was wrong and I'm sorry"

"Tommy, I was dead, at least as far as the world knew at least"

"No, you were with Laurel, and whether you were dead, or as it turns out, alive on a deserted island, you were my friend, practically my brother, and me going after and being with Laurel violated that relationship in about 50 different ways" Tommy argues/explains.

"Thank you Tommy, but it's ok"

Tommy looks confused "You're acting very chill about this whole thing" he says just as Oliver's phone rings

"Hello" Oliver answers, saying something in rapid Russian before taking the phone down from his face to speak to Tommy "It's a Russian model calling, sorry" he apologies, causing Tommy to chuckle

"And now I understand, I'll give you a minute"

Oliver smiles until he puts the phone back up to his ear "So I check out"

"You do. His name is Floyd Lawton. I have an address, for where he stayed last time he took a job in Starling City" Alexi explains

"Then let's hope he's a creature of habit and is there again" Oliver says mostly to himself, listening as the address is relayed to him.

 _Lawton's current residence_

Deadshot was typing away on his laptop, when he hears something which has him tense, fingers twitching against the trigger of his wrist mounted gun as the door was kicked in and an arrow barely misses him, return fire causing the Hood to slip back out the door to avoid being shot again. This went back and forth a couple times, before Lawton managed to reach the window and jump out, leaving Oliver with nothing but a destroyed room and a broken laptop

 _Queen Consolidated – I.T. department_

"Hello" Oliver greets the cute blond behind the computer "I'm Oliver Queen"

"Of course you are, you're Mr Queen" she responds

"No, Mr Queen was my father" Oliver replies automatically

"Yeah, but he's dead, drowned, but you didn't, so you can come down to the IT department and listen to me babble like an idiot" Felicity says, her words falling out before her brain has time to process them fully "Which will end, in 3,2,1."

Oliver smiles "I was having some issues with my computer, and was told you were the person to come see" he explains, placing the laptop, he'd _acquired_ form Deadshot's place on her table "I was at my favourite coffee shop, surfing the web and spilled a latte on it"

"There are bullet holes in this" the blond states flatly, clearly not impressed

"My best friend works in the Glades and we have coffee together sometimes, it's not exactly the safest place in the city. You'd be surprised what is considered normal there"

"Like a shootout during coffee?" Felicity asks, mostly as a joke

"You learn to duck. So, any chance you can see what's salvageable?"

"I'd say give me 20 minutes, but I won't know how much is recoverable until I get in there" Felicity admits, before getting to work "I'm not going to find any dirty pics on this computer am I?"

"No, on that front it's completely clean"

 _About an hour later_

"And done. Now lets see, blueprints for… oh. Maybe I should hand this back to you, before I get any more involved in the Shakespearian drama"

Oliver looks confused "Excuse me?"

"Montecues, Capulets?"

"I didn't do Shakespeare in any of the 4 collages I dropped out of" Oliver admits without a hint of shame, while Felicity's jaw drops

"4...never mind. This is plans for the Unidac building, where the company auction is being held tonight, one of the bidders being Walter Steele, your step dad as of a year ago, or I suppose a month since you were considered dead at the time… not important. What is, is that it's a major conflict of interest, so bring this back to its owner…"

"Floyd Lawton" Oliver supplies

"What? No, Warren Patel, who's Floyd Lawton?" Felicity asks after pointing out the name on the document

"Someone I'm going to be having a very serious discussion with" Oliver answers vaguely, taking the laptop as suggested and leaving the office

 _Arrowcave a little later_

"So, we have the man who hired Deadshot" James notes as the 2 look over the building plans "Now what?"

"There are too many vantage points" Oliver replies "Even together we won't find Lawton before he can take out at lest some of his targets, one of which is Walter"

"Well I can't pull people out of thin air right now, so what do you suggest we do?" James asks

"What any concerned citizen would do…" James eyebrow rises slightly "…we call the cops" and it's been lost in his hairline "And by we, I mean you"

"Of course you do"

Quinton Lance had just left the precinct, almost getting to his car when he trips, if the fall didn't knock the wind out of him the knee on his back definitely did

"Hello detective, I hear you're working the Sniper case"

"Get off me you freak" Lance growls, and flails, getting a light blow to the back of the head for his troubles

"That wasn't a question, just the opening statement to this" Raptor drops a flashdrive in front of the man "His name is Floyd Lawton. He was hired by Warren Patel to deal with any and all competition his employer had for the Unidac buy. He's going to finish the job tonight"

Lance scowls, but picks up the drive "Why come to me with this?"

"The SCPD's manpower is the best chance of catching Deadshot before he can kill again, and you're one of the few cops I know who isn't corrupt" Raptor replies before standing, allowing the detective to move again "Between the 3 of us, we should be able to catch him"

When Lance turns Raptor was gone, but he left behind some information he probably didn't intend to…

That he was working with the Hood

 _Later – Unidac building_

"Moira, and Thea you both look amazing" James says cheerfully, giving each a quick, one armed hug "Where did you find them Walter?"

Walter laughs "They found me actually, just happy to have them still around" he jokes

"You always were so casual and informal" Moira says with a polite smile, even as the hilt of his cane digs into her hip "It's your best feature"

"And you know how to have fun, great to see you J" Thea agree, his smile infectious given the wide grin on her face "Plus I got early release for coming here" she chuckles

"Do I even want know?"

Thea shrugs "Probably not. Nice seeing you"

"And you, always Thea. You really are my favourite kid" he chuckles, letting them go ' _My favourite human_ ' he thinks as he comes across Oliver looking tense

"So, anything interesting happen yet?"

"Lance just arrested the guy we believe is Lawton's employer, but there's still no sign of Deadshot" Oliver answers

"Any chance he'll split now he's not getting paid, or is he a 'no job left unfinished' kind of bad guy?" James asks

"They pay him in advance, so tonight is already bought and paid for. He'll do it, not exactly due to any sort of compulsion but to test himself and make things interesting"

James nods "I both understand and respect that philosophy"

Oliver sighs and weakly chuckles "Of course you fucking do. We're running out of time, he's got to hit before the auction"

James notices something in Oliver's demeanour and winces "I get the feeling you were too preoccupied looking for Lawton, you forgot to read the guest list" he guesses

"Yeah, why?"

"Your mother, and sister are here, most likely to support Walter given he's here to actually bid" James answers, watching several emotions rapidly flicker through Oliver's eyes, panic being one of them he notes in relief, just before the vigilante makes his way over to Diggle, directing him to get Moira and Thea out of the building. He couldn't have timed it better if he tried, Lance tackles Walter just as Deadshot makes his move, missing possibly for the first time on record as instead of Walter Steele he shot and killed the waiter. After that he started picking off the people in the room, causing panic as he does

"Diggle, get them out of here" Oliver orders

"Where's Walter?" Moira asks, fear rushing through her veins like ice

"He's fine, Detective Lance has him" Oliver explains, catching the fleeing duo out the corner of her eye "You need to go"

"You need to come with us Sir" Diggle says but is ignored

"No, you get them to safety, I'll be right there behind you" Oliver replies, rushing off as he does

"I'll meet you there, go get your good suit on" James says with a sanguine smile as Oliver runs up the stair without response, not feeling the need to inform him Mr Diggle followed behind a few minutes later.

 _Deadshots snipping position_

"Are all of his bullets poisoned?" Raptor asks as the 2 duck for cover behind a wall

"We can't risk it on the off chance they aren't"

"No you CAN'T risk it, I just don't want to" Raptor retorts, the Hood ignoring him to fire an arrow back while Deadshot was reloading

"Really, not even a little professional courtesy; we are doing the same work after all"

"Bitch I eat people we aren't the same" Raptor shouts, deflecting a bullet with his khopesh, only the helmet preventing Oliver and Lawton from seeing he was just as surprised that worked

"Well I got paid already, might as well deal with you two then clear out the others" Deadshot states, spraying another clip of bullets, dodging a blade toss as he moves to reload, only to get an arrow through the targeting reticule over his right eye, as well as the eye itself.

"Deadshot's down" Oliver says as the body drops

"He's not the only one" Raptor replies, the archer turns and curses loudly s he sees Diggle slump against the wall, having taken a couple of Deadshot's poisoned rounds to the chest and shoulder

"We need to get out of here" Oliver growls

"No complaints here, let's move"

 _The Foundry_

"He's going to need the herbs and some water" Oliver orders, James nods as they get Diggle onto the table

"Makes me glad I didn't put it back in the crate, also remind me to get you that new lock later" James says as he passes both to Oliver who manages to get practically delirious Diggle to take them both, then let him rest "I'm keeping the helmet on for now, that way if it bites you in the ass, it only bites you"

 _Few hours later_

Diggle groans as he comes to, the table not helping as it was cold and really uncomfortable. As he sits up he blinks a few times, trying to make sure what he was seeing wasn't some weird hallucination

"Hello Dig" Oliver greets, still in his suit but with the hood down "I'm sure you have some questions" behind him Raptor snorts, understatement of the month.

TBC

LW: Well, that's it for chapter 3, and now Diggle knows and OG Team Arrow have all made their appearances.


End file.
